Have you ever played?: Recent Episodes
MattFondude
The "Have you ever played?" podcast is a video game play-along podcast featuring Matt and James. Two friends who aim to play video games weekly in a book club style.
Matt and James talk about trying to buy any 30th-anniversar Sony products. Scalpers bought every last piece of hardware like the Grinch on Christmas day. Sony had a very underwhelming State of Play and overall just left a bad taste in their mouths.
Matt and James talk about the terrible Minecraft movie trailer. Also, they discuss Concord being a hot dookie and how it got canceled after 8 years of dev time.
Matt and James catch up after a brief hiatus. They discuss their experiences with "Deadlock," a secret Valve game that has now been revealed to the public. The game is described as a third-person shooter with MOBA elements, combining aspects of Dota and Overwatch but with its own unique mechanics. James initially found the game fun but lost interest, while Matt, who generally dislikes MOBAs, wasn't as impressed.
The hosts then segue into rumors about the long-anticipated "Half-Life 3" or another Half-Life-related project. They discuss the history of failed attempts to develop a new Half-Life game and speculate on how Valve might be approaching this new project.
Next, they critique "Concord," a game released by Sony that has been widely considered a failure. They describe it as a safe, uninspired attempt at a live-service game that lacks the innovation and character appeal needed to stand out in a crowded market. Despite some players finding the gameplay enjoyable, the hosts agree that the game’s lack of originality and poor character design have doomed it from the start.
The conversation then shifts to other games, including "Black Myth: Wukong," which neither host has played but acknowledge as a significant release, particularly in the Asian market. They discuss the game's impressive sales and popularity, comparing it to other titles and expressing interest in possibly playing it in the future. However, they note that it doesn’t currently hold the same must-play status for them as other major titles.
Towards the end of the episode, the hosts briefly touch on the recent Nintendo Direct, specifically the announcement of the "Castlevania Dominus Collection," which includes three classic DS Castlevania games. Matt expresses excitement about this collection, particularly due to the quality-of-life improvements made for playing these games on modern hardware.
In this episode of the "Have You Ever Played" podcast, Matt and James explore the challenges of porting AAA games to mobile platforms, using Resident Evil 7 as a prime example. They discuss the difficulties developers face when adapting console games to touch controls, which often result in subpar experiences for players. Reminiscing about their longest gaming sessions, James shares a 36-hour marathon of Modern Warfare. The hosts touch on the novelty and limitations of such ports, comparing them to older game adaptations for mobile devices. They delve into the subject of nudity in video games, pondering its appropriateness and impact on gameplay, and wrap up with a humorous take on sensational headlines in gaming journalism.
Going into debt during the Steam Summer Sale can be tempting with all the exciting news and releases in the gaming world. War Thunder's developer, Gaijin Entertainment, recently issued a heartfelt apology for accidentally using an image of the Challenger disaster in their artwork—because nothing says "fun game" like a tragic explosion. Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erd Tree is too hard Kai Cenat. Nintendo's recent Direct featured promising titles like Mario and Luigi: Brothership, Donkey Kong Country: Returns HD, and The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. Exciting announcements include the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. Matt has been playing Binding of Isaac Four Souls Card Game while James is engaged with the latest Apex Legends patch and the Supervive announcement. Discussion points include whether stealth is fun in gaming and the least enjoyable character archetypes, such as healers or tanks.
Join Matt and Ryan as we dive into the latest in gaming and pop culture. We share first impressions of "Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree," touching on its performance issues and challenging gameplay. We explore the buzz around the controversial NFT game "Banana" on Steam and why you might want to avoid it. We revisit the cancellation of "Redfall" DLC and the shutdown of Arkane Austin, discussing the fallout and final updates. Plus, we uncover the quirky story of Taco Bell superfan Mark Smith's paintings on eBay and end with a humorous tale about spam caller Mr. Gene Nerrick. Tune in for a fun, insightful chat!
Matt and James talk a bit about #fixTf2 and then cover all the announcements at the Summer Games Fest and Xbox showcase including Black Myth: Wukong, Space Marine 2, Metaphor: ReFantazio, Dragon Ball Sparkling! Zero, Delta Force Hawk Ops, Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, Mecha Break, Blumhouse Games titles, Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers – Rita’s Rewind, Kingdom Come Deliverance II, Slitterhead, Cairn, Wanderstop, Unknown9, Entora: The Last Song, The First Descendant, Outersloth, Sonic X Shadow Generations, Dune: Awakening, The Finals Season 3, Alan Wake 2, New World: Aeternum, Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, Skate, Valorant, Monster Hunter Wilds, Phantom Blade Zero.
(DEEP BREATH)
Fallout 76: Skyline Valley, Depersonalization, Isonzo, The Callisto Protocol, Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn, Still Wakes the Deep, Flock, Dungeons of Hinterberg, Kunitsu-Gami: Path Of The Goddess, Sea of Thieves Season 13, Frostpunk 2, SteamWorld Heist II, Age of Mythology Retold, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Sopa - Tale of the Stolen Potato, Dead Static Drive, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, Vapor World: Over the Mind, Cities Skylines 2, All You Need is Help, ARK 2, Avowed, Ara: History Untold, Magical Delicacy, Towerborne, Ghost Bike, Bounty Star, Commandos: Origins, Pigeon Simulator, REPLACED, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Creatures of Ava, The Alters, 33 Immortals, FireWork, Keplerth, Volcano Princess, Mecha BREAK, Fable, Doom: The Dark Ages, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, South of Midnight, Winter Burrow, Mixtape, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, Atomfall, Gears of War E-Day, Perfect Dark, State of Decay 3.
and DONE.
Matt and James talk about the Sony State of Play May 2024. Spoiler: GOD OF WAR HAS THE BARE MINIMUM PC FEATURES!
Matt and James talk about Kingdom Hearts coming to Steam on June 13th and the exciting release of House of the Dragon Season 2 on June 15th. They’ll also chat about the latest Dota patch, Nintendo’s plans to open a store in San Francisco’s Union Square, the upcoming Smiling Friends Season 2, Apex Legends Season 21, and the buzz around Chainsaw Man.
Matt and James talk about Marvel Rivals, Invincible Season 2, Apex Leaks, Mass Effect, Project Loki, Top Ten Monks.
Matt messed up the mic this week and he sounds like a fish in a bowl! James has made a triumphant return and has finished Borderlands 3. He lets Matt know about the wonderful world of DOTA 2 LORE. Meanwhile, Apex is burning and on fire!
Matt and Ryan talk about classic school memories like what movies they watched and how they annoyed teachers. Matt plays Wii in the middle of class and makes a teacher retire out of shame. What wacky tales will they spin on the cast?!
Matt and James talk about Apex Legends and how big streamers got hacked live during a tournament. They also answer more dumb AI-generated Video Game questions. Matt praises Overwatch 2 for once!
Matt and James use the power of AI to generate the worst video game-related questions of all time. Tinder dates with fictional characters and complaining about Spike's dumb hair in Overwatch 2. James also talks about his citizenship status in bug shooty game Helldivers 2.
Matt and James discuss the potential black mirror future hellscape that is around the corner thanks to the Apple Vision Pro! They also babble about Apex Legends and Overwatch 2 and compare absurd microtransaction pricing. Featuring an extended viewer question segment where they talk about the PSPgo of all things...
Matt and James talk about the hit Pokemon-like ark survival type beat Palworld. They also talk about the not-so-stellar reviews of the new S Squad Game. The chat divulges into a talk about burger toppings and mayo fry dipping...
Matt and James talk about their daily games that they secretly hate playing. Matt is playing Maplestory during the RNG and VAC pet scandals. James is playing Apex Legends hoping for a sub 1% chance to be Cloud from FF7.
Matt and James discuss the potential pros and cons of hero bans coming to Overwatch 2. James also tells a tale of being 2 mmr away from being a master in Dota 2 only for the internet to destroy him.
Matt and James discuss their picks for the upcoming 2023 Game Awards. They hope that Hello Kitty will sweep this year but maybe Baulders Gate 3 will pick up some pity awards...
Matt and James talk about some of their favorite mods in gaming. Also the current state of Overwatch 2 and having to grind for skins but at least they might have a better battlepass soon!
Matt and James discuss the state of "games as a service" games. They also reminisce about classic flash games that got them kicked out of the computer lab in their younger years. Classics like Poptropica and Mighty Guy!
Matt and James discuss how strange it is seeing Blizzard / Activision games on Steam. Also, they get stressed out playing games with strict time limits, including cozy farming games sweeping the nation.
Matt and James talk about Cyberpunk 2077 some more. Matt rants about being bad at video games. He misses lots of fun items in his playthrough.
Matt and James talk about Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty. They go over a lot of the changes added in the 2.0 patch of the game. Does it finally live up to the hype?
Matt and James talk about Risk of Rain 2 and the pros and cons of modding. They are both very excited about the Cyberpunk DLC!
Matt and James talk about movies for some reason. Then we talk about Disco Eylsium and Dota 2!
Matt and James talk about Dark and Darker which is apparently out. Also they reminiscence amount remenant from the ashes.
Matt and Jame's discuss Cyperpunk 2077, Diablo 4, FF14, Undertale, and Remanent from the Ashes! This a gamerific game-filled week of gaming.
Matt and James discuss the newly released Remnant II and then for some unknown reason Rag Doll Kung Fu.
Matt and James discuss the age-old question of "What is truly cringe". Matt also now thinks FF14 is actually fun and not evil!
In this episode, James is the host featuring the classic co-host MattFondude. Matt talks about mattress issues and FFXIV, while James pines for the days of transformers licensed games.
Matt and James try to avoid the curse of the shoddy episode while dodging NDA agreements! They discuss the infinite treadmill of Kingdom Hearts lore.
Matt and James recap all the stuff they have been up to the past couple of weeks. They ponder about Mario wonder and chat about their feelings on Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
“This week Matt and James talk all things Diablo IV! Let's find out if the game is worth the rather steep price of admission.
Matt and James talk about Metal gear solid 3 Delta and what games they have been playing recently. A viewer question asks about a childhood movietie-in games leading to a discussion about the strange PS2 game: Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects
Matt and Ryan talk about their childhood dangers and the importance of riding the bus. Some video game stuff was also brought up. CONTENT WARNING: GAMER ENERGY
Matt and James talk about the new changes to Dota 2. They also discuss what they think the next best thing in gaming will be.
Matt and James long for the days of multiplayer games with open mic lobbies and children yelling at them
Matt and James forgot how to make a podcast this week. They talk about Overwatch 2 and how they no longer like My Hero Academia!
Matt and James share their experiences playing Dota 2, a game that’s supposed to be fun. They discuss their recent attempts at playing the game and how it went wrong despite James knowing what he was doing. It’s not like they’re experts or anything, but they’re pretty sure they could have done better if they were playing blindfolded. Tune in to hear them rage about the game and each other!”
Join Matt and James as they take you on a journey through the world of games as service games that slap a 2 on the end of them. Matt shares his epic journey through Megaman X, while James takes you on a wild ride through Diablo 4. Get ready for some serious gaming talk and laughs along the way… or not. We can’t promise anything.
Matt and James are back with another episode of “Have You Ever Played?” In this episode, they discuss their recent gaming experiences. Matt has been playing the Megaman Zero collection, while James has been continuing his journey through Slay the Spire. But that’s not all! Bing Chat AI joins the conversation with flaming hot discussion questions, leading to a spicy debate!
Matt and James use Bing Chat to automate their lives and talk about videogames for them.
Matt and James talk about how they almost got seriously injured. We also had access to a bow and arrow and booze.
Matt and James discuss some Overwatch 2 news and then return to the wonderful and sometimes awful video game quiz!
Matt and James discuss their weeks and some super totally accurate gaming leaks. James is dubbed the "Triva Master" as we embark into a whole new segment!
Matt and James talk about Elden Ring some more and then test their GAMER knowledge on some busted quiz.
Matt and James talk more about Elden Ring and discover the world of comedy new years resolutions.
Matt and James spend some time talking about their experiences with Elden Ring. Somehow the topic of pumpkin is brought up and hot takes are thrown down.
Matt and James switch up the podcast format and get lost down a weird Christmas blog rabbit hole.
Matt and Polkabird don't actually explain the opening story and instead talk about burger king and Tekken.
Matt and James discuss the classification of foods. Sprinkled in amongst talk of FF14 and competitive gaming.
Matt and James go through all of the categories for the Game Awards and realize how little they know about games.
This week Matt and James play Left 4 Dead 2, the actual new maps this time. James then tells me about his bathroom accident involving a snake.
Matt and James discuss playing Tetris on flip phones and angry birds on Ipod touch. Man mobile gaming sure has changed.
This week Matt and James play Left 4 Dead 2 but just the Left 4 Dead 1 maps... it's going to get confusing. Later, they talk about childhood fears such as the ocean and Nick.com flash games.
This week Matt and James take a look at Metacritic's most highly rated games... most of them are made by Rockstar.
In this episode, Matt and James discuss their experiences with the game Mario 64. They both have many HOT TAKES regarding the second half of the game. Hopefully, some structure was added to the show! This show is a video game play-along podcast featuring Matt and James. Two friends aim to play video games weekly in a book club style.
James discusses his top 10(ish) most played games on Steam while Matt complains about Darksouls II while also praising it!
In this episode, Matt and James discuss their experiences with the game Mario 64. James' in-game camera was broken and Matt rambles about anime and how he almost became a Naruto fan. This show is a video game play-along podcast featuring Matt and James. Two friends aim to play video games weekly in a book club style.
James is still sick this week. Polkabird aka Ryan steps in to discuss our top 5 most played games on Steam! And also fried sidewalk eggs...
James is out sick this week. Polkabird aka Ryan steps in to discuss strange internet gaming questions.
In this episode, Matt and James discuss their experiences with the game Plants vs Zombies. This show is a video game play-along podcast featuring Matt and James. Two friends aim to play video games weekly in a book club style.
Matt and James mix up the format a bit with this special topics episode about controllers!
In this episode, Matt and James discuss their experiences with the game Portal. This show is a video game play-along podcast featuring Matt and James. Two friends who aim to play video games weekly in a book club style.
In this episode, Matt and James make their debut while discussing their memories of Portal.